Chinese Government provides RMB 50 million interest-free loan via ETCA for March 26 Stadium Construction Project (linked to #58662)

On June 10, 2000, the Chinese Government and the Government of Mali signed an RMB 50 million loan for the March 26 Stadium Construction Project (see Project #58662). Then, on December 4, 2001, the Chinese Government and the Government of Mali signed an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) providing an RMB 50 million interest-free loan for the same project (as captured in this project). According to the ETCA, the loan would be used for five years from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2006. This project involved the construction of a football stadium located in Bamako called the Stade du 26 Mars (March 26 Stadium). It seats 50,000 people. China Overseas Engineering Group (COVEC) was the contractor responsible for implementation. Construction began in 1999 and the stadium was inaugurated on December 4, 2001, ahead of the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations. The Chinese Government reportedly covered 1/3 of the total project cost (25 million euros), with the Government of Mali covering the other 2/3.

Additional details

- The Chinese project title is 新建5万人座体育场 or 建马里326体育场 援建. - The French project title is Construction du Stade du 26 Mars. - Neither of the Chinese Government loans that the Government of Mali contracted in 2000 and 2001 for this project are recorded in the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020. The Government of Mali also contracted two, RMB 30 million loans for this project in 1999. Since loan terms for the interest-free loan are unavailable, AidData has set maturity period to 20 years by default and grace period to 10 years by default per China's Foreign Assistance White Paper (http://www.cidca.gov.cn/2018-08/06/c_129925064_3.htm) which states that the maturity period of interest-free loans is 20 years, with a drawdown period of 5 years, grace period of 5 years, and repayment over 10 years. AidData treats the drawdown period as providing 5 years of additional grace.

Number of official sources

7

Number of total sources

9